The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran claimed that it attacked three oil tankers on “unauthorized routes” in the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels linked to the U.S. in “other areas,” according to the Iranian agency Fars.
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The statement from the Fars agency details that the Iranian Aerospace Force also attacked with ballistic missiles a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and a destroyer in response to the U.S. Army’s aggressions against three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday morning.
According to the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the Navy of the Islamic Republic warned all ships in the Persian Gulf or near the Strait of Hormuz to “refrain from making any suspicious movements aimed at transiting unauthorized maritime routes. Otherwise, they will be attacked.”
U.S. Attack
The U.S. Army attack came after the Revolutionary Guard launched ballistic missiles against two U.S. Navy warships patrolling the region’s waters, reported the U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
In a statement, Centcom detailed that a U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided missile destroyer “successfully evaded multiple Iranian attacks” and no U.S. personnel were injured.
Hours later, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “strongly condemned” the aggressions against “Iranian merchant ships in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman” and considered it a violation of the United Nations Charter and a “war crime.”
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These U.S. attacks on Saturday come after Washington launched the harshest bombings in over a month against the Islamic Republic this week, causing at least 19 deaths, including four at a wedding, according to Iranian authorities.
Tehran responded with bombings against Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, targeting what they say were U.S. military bases.
Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz after the war began on February 28 and has made it the main pressure measure in the conflict, as it has managed to paralyze almost all oil exports, and demands that ships wishing to cross obtain its permission.
The United States has established a blockade on Iranian ports and ships and in recent weeks has managed to restore part of the maritime traffic through the strait along a southern route near Oman, according to experts in oil and the Middle East.
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